Middle East

Human Rights Watch (Beirut) – Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman faced scrutiny over the country’s human rights record in 2018 following the murder of a prominent journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, by Saudi agents at the country’s Istanbul consulate on October 2, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2019. The scrutiny […]

Climate Change

Climate Stress drove Wave of Arab Spring Refugees

Middle East Monitor

Severe droughts made more likely by global warming worsened conflict in Arab Spring countries early this decade, forcing people to flee, researchers said on Wednesday, publishing evidence they said proved the connection for the first time, reports Reuters. The study used data from asylum applications in 157 countries from 2006-2015, together with an index that […]

Syria

Not with a Bang but a Whimper: Last Village of ISIL “Caliphate” falls to Syrian Kurds

AFP

Beirut (AFP) – Kurdish-led fighters overran the last village held by the Islamic State group in Syria on Wednesday, confining its once vast cross-border “caliphate” to two small hamlets, a war monitor said. It is the culmination of a broad offensive launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces last September with US-led coalition support in which […]

Featured

Trump’s anti-Iran Warsaw Conference Collapsing, as Russia says Iran should have been Invited

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – A couple of weeks ago, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced a conference on security in the Middle East for February 13-14. Although the theme seemed general, the conclave was clearly intended by Pompeo, Saudi Arabia, and Israel to direct hate against Iran. Poland issued 70 invitations to the countries […]

Morocco

Why do Protests Keep Happening in North Africa? It’s “al-Hogra”

Hsain Ilahiane

(Informed Comment) – In North Africa, leftovers of “Arab Spring” protests have entered their ninth year. In Morocco, the last few years have been marked by a wave of anti-government protests throughout the country since the “Arab Spring”: the Rif hirak (movement) in the north decrying economic and social injustice; Zagora’s “thirst protests” in the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Snipers Killed 180, Injured 23,000 Gaza Protesters with Live Fire since March

Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — More than 250 Palestinians were killed by Israeli army gunfire and over 23,000 were injured since the start of “The Great March of Return” protests in the Gaza Strip on March 30th until the end of last year, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian […]

Syria

US has “No Plan” as Syria Pullout Proceeds: Ex-Envoy

AFP

Washington, DC (AFP) – The United States has no plan for Syria as it proceeds with President Donald Trump’s order to pull American troops out of the country, a top official who quit in protest at the policy said on Sunday. Brett McGurk, who was America’s envoy to the US-led global coalition against the Islamic […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel demolished 10% more Palestinian Structures in 2018: OCHA

Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — During 2018, Israel demolished or seized 460 Palestinian-owned structures in the West Bank, a 10% increase compared to 2017, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in the occupied Palestinian territory confirmed in a new report. The OCHA report stated, “While in Area C, which makes over 60% […]

Israel/ Palestine

Roseanne Barr calls Natalie Portman ‘Repulsive’ over Israeli Prize Refusal

Middle East Monitor

Comedian Roseanne Barr has called Natalie Portman “repulsive” after the Jacky star declined to accept an Israeli film award last year. The former Roseanne star made the comments ahead of her own visit to Israel, during which she will address the Israeli parliament. Barr, 66, who was promoting her upcoming trip to Israel in an […]